Find Peace and Happiness:

Therapy is a great space for healing.   There are several things we will do during our time together.  The end goal is for you to feel better (at least less depressed or anxious) and to achieve your individual goals.

Therapy is not intended to eradicate all negative emotions and anxieties. Instead, it is designed to help you build skills that help you to expand your understanding of the difficulties you are having and to increase you ability to weather and accept any storms of life you are experiencing.

So, one of the first things we will work on in therapy sessions is writing out your goals.  Where do you want to be in a week, a month, a year from now and what small steps will it take to get there.  When we write down these goals, we can check back from time to time to see how well we are at aiming towards those goals you set for yourself to accomplish in counseling.

We do not use just the therapy session to move towards your goals.  In between session, during your week, is a super time to complete worksheets or activities that  can help move you towards your goals.  I will send worksheets that I believe might be helpful to you.  There will be a part for you to read as well as a part for you to fill in with your thoughts.  If you have a difficult time with any of the worksheets, just let me know and we can work together to complete them in sessions. 

Or, I may send a worksheet  that does not seem to work for you.  Just write that in the blanks so I will know to try another one that might be more helpful. Feedback regarding how each worksheet works or doesn’t work  is just as important as feedback on the effectiveness of an antibiotic in a medical setting. Also, many people are helped by writing in a Journal.  Writing in a journal sometimes helps to get thoughts and feelings out so you can deal with them better.  It is like getting them into the light so you can clearly identify them and then  work on fixing any problem you encounter.  This  Journal can help with that.  You may want to share your Journal entries with your therapist during sessions or you may want to keep them private.  That is your choice. Either way, Journaling often helps in therapy. 

I found a cool quote from Robert Frost that I like. "In three words I a sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Sometimes it helps to have someone who is neutral who can walk with you during this difficult time. Working with a counselor can often help as you set goals and follow small, but practical day to day steps towards a more satisfying life.